The God of Jesters
Chapter 197 - 3.15.1 Sorry for the Betrayal.

Chapter 197: 3.15.1 Sorry for the Betrayal.

There was never a silent night in the city of Bothal, but constant little incidents have made it much quieter than it was ever before. With few exceptions, the city was on edge. People always worried for their safety, with the old among them recalling the old days of uncertainty before industrialization.

The time when the trust between the clans was not established and fights would break out constantly.

Such was the state of the city now.

Even when Pulgasiri adopted many modern innovations in city planning and management with the introduction of the Police force and army.

Ignoring the Police that directly came under the elected government, the army still was structured around the old families who had been protecting Pulgasari for a long time.

And the Stone Bloods were one of the families. Being one of the four ancient Protectors of the Dwarven land, just like the Bastard Bears, they were well respected in the city and due to the nature of their bloodline, were responsible for the protection of the city.

Which was a far cry from the treatment of Bastard Beards, who were forced out of the city like a cleansing of sorts. Some people started to consider them myths at certain points.

Of course, the existence of Salvarez was never publicized to the people to not cause panic. And to their belief, such a worry was for naught. Never considering the current state at all.

But back on the Topic. Being one of the Four Ancient Families, The Stone Bloods had been given the job of protecting this city for years.

"Are you in a hurry? Did something happen? Don’t you even have time to greet your father?"

"Father... you were here?" Said the young Dwarf man, who had just changed to his casuals and seemed to be leaving for something in a hurry.

A father who wondered if he might be going out for an outing after the week-long military training. But his answer ended up surprising him instead.

"A friend of mine was attacked, two of his associates seemed to have died."

"Attacked in the middle of the city?... Aren’t your friends knights themselves?"

"I don’t know the details, Father, will inform you when I am back home."

That was the first time Homuk StoneBlood heard about the assassin.

Being a General by nature of work, he barely had the time to rest at home. And even though their borders were secure it was not as action-packed when compared to the borders of Cynark. He still took his job seriously, keeping his men in line and his mind active all the time.

He had done his best to protect his city, his country, and his people.

So hearing that someone close to his family suffered such a fate, he felt a bit disturbed. But no worries, this was not under his jurisdiction. And accidents like this were not so rare. The only reason he noticed it was due to it being happening to someone close.

And so, Homuk continued his life, learning a bit more details about the incident and nothing more.

That was until another attack, this time involving a sniper, happened in the city, which led to a Lieutenant under him losing his family.

As for the survivor who lost his eye, he knew that man very well. The blood of the Red Dragon, Rubidra, another one of the Ancient Family, although in decline due to the disappearance of their Totem, was still a strong family whom he had good relations with. Going so far as to remember the little boy from years ago, who turned into the victim this time.

And if his sources were correct, then it’s the same assassin.

For the first time in a long while, he had felt anger.

He prided himself on being patriotic towards his city, doing his best to protect the land where he was born against the invaders. But without ever seeing a true war on the border, he kept hearing about incidents happening directly inside his city.

Incidents that kept escalating.

So he kept an eye on this assassin and the small upheavals happening in the city. This also let him learn that after another attack on a civilian no less, the governor of the city has finally allowed the CBI to conduct their investigations, after multiple pushes from the Rubidra family.

Which finally gave Homuk some assurance that the people would finally see justice.

"Sir, someone tried to kidnap Doctor Letzer’s son, though the attempt had been thwarted by the home’s security, the boy didn’t come out of this incident unharmed." Another bad news and this time, it was someone awfully close to him.

"What?..." There was only one Doctor Letzer in the facility under him. And it was none other than Ivankov Letzer, a rare human who was the lead in the Research and Development wing of the military. A facility right under his jurisdiction.

Not to mention, considering the help Doctor Letzer had provided him with his medical skills, this was just too close this time.

"What is this? What is going on in this city... now even our kids are not safe?." He didn’t bother Doctor Letzer at the moment, there was no need to ask as with his supernatural hearing, he was able to hear a couple of vehicles leave the facility. Homuk just dialed a few numbers and requested the minister to let him leave the compound so that he could bring an end to it.

"If they can’t do it... let me. I will bring their twisted necks in a day at most."

But no matter how much he had tried, he was never allowed to leave the facility. His job was to protect, not to capture.

But at the end of the day, Homuk with all his strength was still a mortal, he felt pain and got frustrated.

And years of stagnation have also affected his psyche a bit. Although he prided himself on his job and such. But repeating the same day again and again has put a strain on his mind.

Which when compounded together with a spark of a bastard that kept harming the very thing one loved and wished to protect. Would cause one to make unlikely decisions.

I couldn’t believe it. The little game I had played finally bore some fruit.

"The stone has left our path. The enemies will be confused only for a little. Let’s make it a bit more confusing." I called him Carp, due to his fish-eyed face and the small pot belly he had.

A product of Malnutrition in his youth. Carp was molded by his surroundings and lived by a single philosophy. "When the chaos is at its greatest, we will steal it." He loved to steal.

This was a military compound on the surface, but a research facility underground. As for what actually happened underground, even its protector Homuk StoneBlood didn’t know of it.

Nor did he care in reality.

It was his simplistic worldview and patriotic nature that made the company pull some strings and put him above to protect their precious facility.

Because in their eyes, his foolishness is an asset. A fool who will protect their land with blind fanaticism without being swayed by personal gains, like some others might have done in his position.

A mistake they made and the one I exploited.

Of course, in a way, I did betray Max and put him in danger. But it didn’t mean I didn’t care. I did care and his death would really bring me a lot of misery on a certain front.

But all of these games are about checks and balances. To gain something, you have to lose some things as well.

And the gain from Max was not that huge in truth when compared to finally weakening the defenses of this old facility.

*****

"ENOUGH!" His mere existence caused the conflict to come to an end. Not to mention the complete crushing of Salvarez, who was an overpowering existence by himself.

’It’s too much... I need to escape.’

And Salvarez was crushed, or at least his limbs were. All of them. Turning him into a limbless giant bear that could only grunt in pain. Showing that although Homuk was standing on top of Salvarez’s chest and seemed to have come to kill him, he had still controlled his strength to some extent.

As for Max, he had made up his mind at this point. He needed to escape from this place fast, and he had hoped that Sheva would do the same, no matter where she was at the moment.

Because the enemy is too overpowering at the moment, there is no way to protect Salvarez or help him escape, there is nothing he can do besides being captured or dying.

Not even The Jester’s promise was enough to make him stay here.

So he ran, ignoring the other assassins who were just now recovering, unable to match his reaction speed. He ran.

"Stop you Bastard!" Then a shout came from his back, letting him know that the grandmaster was probably going to pursue him.

’Dangerous... this is too dangerous!’

He made a mistake, he shouldn’t have taken off the earliest, exposing himself from the bulk of similarly dressed assassins.

But there was no time to waste, using the little bolt pistol on his hand, he fired multiple concoctions in the direction of his pursuer. But none of them even touched the skin of his enemy. A thin film of energy protected him from his simple attacks.

This might just be his end.